I Hate Jello
by Muffcakeloverxiii
Summary: Post-Wind Waker. Link likes Tetra, but is afraid the feeling is not mutual. Tetra likes Link, but denies it, even with the butterflies in her stomach. Will an adventure filled with everyone's favorite gelatinous monsters be enough to bring them together?
1. Chapter 1

Hi, everyone! This is my first Legend of Zelda fanfic so please be kind. This plot bunny has been chomping at my brain for a while, so I decided that I might as well write and post it.

Note: I was not sure how to rate this, so it is put as K+ just because of some swearing so far. Rating may change.

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series, its characters, locations, and etc. all belong to Nintendo. I only own the plot of this story.

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><p>Chapter 1: Setting Sail<p>

All was quiet on the Great Sea as the dawning sun peeked up over the horizon. The sky was painted with delicate strokes of vibrant pinks, oranges and purples. The waters ebbed gently as the ocean breeze blew east across its surface. All was calm and peaceful…well at least it was.

A pirate ship then sailed through, and rather noisily at that. The ship was occupied by Tetra and her crew…and Link. The crew was clamorously performing their duties aside from Niko, who was slacking off below deck as usual, and Link as he was nowhere to be seen.

Tetra stood at the ship's bow looking out at the seemingly endless sea. Her gaze was distant as she was deep in thought on what her next move would be. She and Link had been the quest of searching for the new Hyrule. They had received it not too long ago and it had not sounded like all that hard of a challenge at first, but there was one problem.

"Where would we start?" she asked herself aloud. "The sea is so big and there are so many islands to explore…" For the first time she was doubting herself. She had always been so sure of everything, but now was another story.

_I really need to get my mind off this for a little while_, she thought. Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw something. Tetra turned her head and off in the distance she saw an unknown isle on the horizon. "Land ho! All hands on deck!" Tetra shouted excitedly at the top of her lungs.

Her crew scrabbled about the deck in a hurried frenzy. "What is it, Miss Tetra?" Gonzo asked as Tetra jumped onto the deck.

"Well…" Tetra began, but then realized something was amiss. She did a head count. They were short one blonde, green-clad hero. "Where's Link?"

"Last seen, he was up in the crow's nest taking a nap," Zuko answered, causing Tetra's face to twitch agitatedly.

_Lazy ass_, Tetra thought as she sauntered over to the ladder to the crow's nest. She climbed up the ladder grasping each rung with a vice grip as she went.

Tetra finally reached the top and saw Link's sleeping form. She tiptoed over to Link and saw that he was curled up in a ball with his fluffy blonde hair gently tousled, his bangs partially covering the upper half of his peaceful face. In short, he looked adorable, and the sight made Tetra's cheeks tint a very rosy pink.

_Why does such a lazy ass have to look so cute…?_ With sudden realization to her own thoughts, Tetra shook her head vigorously. As of late, when she would see Link she would get this weird, queasy feeling in her gut, and as if that was not enough, she had started thinking that he was…well cute. In her mind the only explanation was that there was something terribly wrong with her. _What the hell am I thinking? I came up here to wake him up, not gawk at how cute he looks when he's…_

"Dammit, Link!" Tetra shouted as she delivered a swift kick to the boy's side, earning a groan from the green-garbed hero.

Link had been dreaming about adventures on the high seas when he felt the sharp pain in his side from Tetra's kick. Groggy and slightly irritated, he sat up. Being a boy of very few words, he simply looked up at Tetra, his what-the-hell-was-that-for expression on his face.

Tetra placed her hands on her hips and said, "Well, maybe if you weren't sleeping then you'd have heard what I said." Link quirked his eyebrow at her in confusion. With an annoyed sigh, she heaved him off the floorboards of the crow's nest and forced his gaze toward the mysterious isle out on the horizon.

Link gasped in excitement, went to the ladder and slid down it with his hands lightly touching both sides. Link knew what this meant. Mysterious isles lead to uncharted territory, which leads to exploration, which leads to adventure, which means that there are possibly more monsters to fight. Finally some action!

"Well, someone's a Mr. Eager McBeaver!" Tetra shouted as she slid down after him, causing Link to stick his tongue out at her playfully. When they reached the deck the rest of crew was preparing one of the row boats. Tetra asked, "What do you guys think you're doing?"

"Preparing to ship off, Miss Tetra," Gonzo answered.

"That won't be necessary."

"But why not?" her crew questioned her.

"Because I'll have him," Tetra said, pointing to a smiling Link and the crew pouted. She turned to Link and said, "Ready your ship. I'll go get your gear."

Link nodded and they parted ways. Link ran over to his ship, lowering the sailboat into the blue sea. _Yay!_ Link thought. _Just me and Tetra going on an adventure…alone._ His smile faded and he blushed. He groaned inwardly. _Why do I have to have a crush on the one girl who isn't even interested in me at all?_

Out of all of the few lovely young ladies that Link had met on his travels, the only one who had completely kept his interest was Tetra, with her spunky yet kind persona. Link had had a crush on Tetra for quite some time, though he had no recollection of when he had developed these feelings. However, he at least knew it was before either of them knew that she was a princess. And Link was almost positive that his feelings were not mutual.

Thunk!

Link turned around to see Tetra looking as thrilled as ever holding his bag where he kept his equipment. He smiled at her, hoping his inward frustration was not showing.

"Set sail!" Tetra shouted. Link raised the sail and the ship was carried by the wind toward their next adventure.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

I'm so sorry this chapter is so late. I was having a lot of writer's block with this chapter. I could not think of any ideas, and when one came to mind it left as soon as I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. I hope you guys can forgive me for its lateness and any errors I made while writing it.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot of this story.

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><p>The wind blew the two friends across the wide sea toward their destination. As their small, red sailboat drew nearer to the isle their anticipation was building at a rate to where they could barely contain themselves.<p>

Link was so excited that he ran to his gear sack and began to rummage through it. He could not wait to see what they were in store for and decided to gear up. Finding the Hero Sword and Mirror Shield, he strapped them onto his back. Reaching in again, he pulled out his power bracelets and slid the golden bands onto his wrists. He next pulled out his boomerang and Hero's Bow with the quiver of arrows, his bait bag, and his spoils bag and stuck them into the over-sized magical pocket in his tunic (How else was he supposed to walk around with all the little do-dads that he carried with him?).

As Link continued searching through his pack, Tetra was staring out at the island, an eager grin spread across her face as she operated the rudder.

_I just can't wait 'til we get there!_ Tetra thought.

Just then something passed right in front of her at high speeds spraying her with salty water. _What was that?_ she thought.

She barely stared at it for all of two seconds before her eyes widened in recognition at the site of the signature large, black dorsal fin jutting out of the waters. It was tell-tale sign of a menacing sort of sea creature, the gyorg. With their amazingly wicked speed and teeth as sharp as daggers, they were not to be taken lightly. These sea monsters were known for knocking unfortunate souls into the briny deep, the poor wretches' lives being left in the merciless hands of fate.

As it began turning around, Tetra looked to Link to find that he was still sifting through the bag, blissfully unaware of the impending danger. The gyorg was closing in, and Tetra had to act fast.

"Hit the deck!" Tetra shouted as she leaped without thinking at Link and knocked the two of them down onto the floorboards.

Link did not even have time to register what was going on, because in the next instant the gyorg rammed into the sailboat. The two blonds and the sack were sent flying through the air. Link and Tetra clung to each other closely, their eyes shut tight as they fell into the sea with a splash.

They floated there beneath the waves for a second, simply holding each other. Then Link opened his eyes. He looked around. Whatever had hit them was nowhere to be seen.

_What the heck was that?_ he asked himself.

Then, it got dark all of a sudden. He looked up to see the gyorg coming at them, its razor sharp teeth bared to make a meal of them.

Link drew his sword out of instinct. He knew that the water's added resistance would make it difficult to strike, but he did not care. He just wanted to give himself enough time to get them both out of harm's way.

The gyorg swam at them, and Link swam out of the way just in time to avoid having his leg being bitten off. As soon as Link was in perfect range to strike its eye, he jabbed his sword right into its eye socket. The sea monster writhed in pain. Link pulled his sword out of the gyorg's eye, and its crimson blood flowed out of the wounded eye socket and began dying the water red.

Link could not tell whether it was the sight of the distracted sea creature or the burning in his lungs from lack of oxygen, but something was telling him now was the time to go.

Holding Tetra tightly in one arm, he sheathed his sword and quickly propelled them back to the surface with the other. Taking in large gasps of air, he swam back to the sailboat safely. He climbed into the boat and they lay on the floorboards, completely soaked to the bone, catching their breath.

Link managed to get his breaths under control and sat up. He looked around and realized that something was missing.

_We lost our sack_, Link thought gloomily.

All of his gear from his last adventure had been in there and it would have probably come in handy on this next journey. And now it was all gone. He was more than a little saddened at his loss.

Finally catching her breath, Tetra sat up to see Link's blue expression and felt a pang of some sort. It always pained her for whatever reason to see him like this, and she wanted to cheer him up somehow. She looked at the empty space he was staring at and realized why he was so distraught.

Delicately, she asked, "Did you manage to grab some of your things?"

Link blinked and gestured to his sword and shield on his back.

"Anything else?"

Link looked in his magic pocket and pulled out the boomerang, the Hero's Bow and the arrows. He did not look so down now, but he was still slightly disappointed.

"Well," Tetra said, "maybe we can find some better gear for you on that island."

Link's face lit up at this. His eyes practically sparkled, and he had one of the most adorable smiles she had ever seen on his face. Tetra was trying her hardest to suppress the blood flowing to her cheeks along with the bothersome butterflies that kept fluttering about in her stomach.

"Yes, well, anyway, set course for the island again," Tetra said, glancing out at the sea as she tried to hide her flushed face.

Link nodded and raised the sail on the small mast. They were off once again.

As Link continued sailing, Tetra scowled at the floorboards. _Darn these stupid, annoying butterflies._

_Finally_, Link thought as they reached the island.

The white, sandy coast was dotted with palm trees and many exotic plants. There was a large mountain at the center of the island with a jungle surrounding it on all sides. Off to the east, Link could see what looked like village.

Link turned to Tetra and found her at the floor. He sighed deeply. _She's so pretty when she seems angry about something_, he thought. With his face looking like that of a lovesick puppy, he tapped her shoulder.

Tetra snapped out of her butterfly-hating train of thought. She looked up at Link and quirked one of her blonde eyebrows. Confused by his expression, she asked, "What?"

He pointed at the village in the distance.

"Well, that was fast," she said, hopping out of the sailboat. "Let's go."

They walked along the white shore in comfortable silence, Tetra leading the way. A flash of red shot up from the sand, sending white grains of sand flying everywhere. It landed in a shiny, red blob. The blob then morphed into the shape of an upright punching bag. Two bright yellow eyes opened, and a broad grin spread across its features.

"A chuchu!" Tetra gasped.

Link unsheathed his sword and lunged at the gelatinous blob. He swung his sword at it. It exploded into wisps of purple smoke, only leaving a glob of red chu jelly behind. As he scooped down to retrieve the glob of jelly, six more chuchus sprang up from the sand. Link performed a spin attack, reducing the chuchus to jelly just like your comrade before them.

"Hey!" Tetra shouted angrily from behind Link. The green-clad hero turned around to see it was not he she had shouted at but a chuchu. Said chuchu made a jump at Tetra, who dodged the attack with a roll. She got back on her feet and ran toward Link, shouting, "That stupid thing ate my dagger!"

True enough, Link saw a small dagger floating inside the chuchu's gelatinous body, and he frowned. Normally a hit from any weapon would have done damage to the blob. Why had the dagger been ineffective?

He was about to go attack it when he felt something wriggling around in his magical pocket. Looking down at his pocket, he saw Tetra rifling through it. Just as one of Link's eyebrows quirked up, Tetra pulled out his bow and his quiver of arrows. She quickly loaded an arrow onto the string and took aim. She released the arrow and it stuck the chuchu right between its yellow eyes. In a puff of smoke, all that was left was her dagger and a glob jelly.

Picking up her dagger and putting it back in its scabbard, she said, "Say, do you mind if I hold on to the bow and arrows for a while?"

Smiling, Link shook his head. Of course he would not mind. He did not think he could say no to her even if he wanted to.

Once Tetra was ready to go, the blonds hurriedly continued on their way down the sandy shore. They walked into the small village and looked around. Numerous tiny, wooden huts lined a dirt path that cut through the village. The path led to a much larger wood dwelling that had smoke rising through a hole in the roof.

Tetra was about to take a step toward the large dwelling when she felt Link's hand on her shoulder. She turned to him and saw that he was pointing at one of the huts.

Taking a closer look, she saw that he was not actually pointing at the hut itself but a man, a woman and a child—a family, presumably—standing in the doorway. The man was holding the woman close, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. The child was hiding behind the woman, clinging to her leg. The three all had tan-skinned, dark hair and black eyes. Those eyes stared at the pair in what seemed to be awe.

Then, the man spoke. "Could it be…" he said. "Have you come to help us?"

"Help you?" Tetra asked. "With what?"

"Surely you've seen the goo creatures, am I right?" Assuming he was talking about the chuchus, the pair nodded. "They've been terrorizing our tribe for a while now, and times are becoming desperate. Will you help us?"

Tetra and Link shared a glance, and Tetra could tell from just that one brief look that Link, being the chivalrous hero that he was, truly wanted to help them. Suppressing a sigh, Tetra nodded. "We are at your service," she said.

"Oh thank you, kind strangers," the man said. "I will take you to Chief Shichi. He should be able to tell you more about your quest."

Link and Tetra followed after the man as he led them up the path to the larger dwelling. As they passed by the other huts they could see many other families watching them with fascinated and desperate eyes from their doorways. The two blonds could feel the weight of their stares as they entered the large dwelling.

The pair heard the sound of a crackling fire as they entered. A pit of flames sat in the center of the hut, dark smoke billowing out through a hole in the roof. Behind the fire a man cross-legged with graying dark hair and an aged face. He wore robes of the deepest shade of red and a headdress fashioned out of various brightly colored feathers.

Upon seeing them, the man turned to the other man who had brought them here, and asked, "Pray tell, who are these children?"

"These strangers have offered to help us in our hour of need, Chief Shichi," the other man replied.

The chief turned back to Tetra and Link, his expression thoughtful. After a moment's pause, he sighed. "As much as I would hate to send youths such as yourselves on such a dangerous quest, I'm afraid desperate times call for desperate measures."

"So, what exactly do we have to do on this quest?" Tetra asked, crossing her arms.

The chief cleared his throat. "For centuries, our island and our people have been protected by the powers of four sacred crystals, The Shards of Light. But about a few months back our island was invaded by these goo creatures, and they somehow drained the Shards of their powers. Those monsters have been running amok ever since—destroying our village every time we settle and terrorizing my people and putting a curse on the Temple of the Sun."

"A curse?" Tetra asked, her eyebrows practically shooting up to her hairline.

"Yes, it seems that way at least. The Temple of the Sun, which sits at the foot of the mountain, used to be a sanctuary filled with light. But once the Shards were drained, the light disappeared and the temple was consumed by darkness and shadows and black sludge.

"Your quest is to travel to the four Temples of Light, restore power to the Shards and vanquish whatever evil being is responsible for this."

"And just where can we find these Temples of Light?" Tetra asked.

"There is one to the north, one to the south, one to the east, and one to the west," Chief Shichi answered. "They shouldn't be too difficult to find, but here's a map." He handed them a map with the marked locations of the temples.

Link looked it over really quick before rolling it up and putting it in his pocket. He bowed his head in thanks, and Tetra said, "Thank you, sir."

"No," Chief Shichi said with a bow, "thank you. The nearest Temple of Light is just north of here. May the light shine upon you both."

With that, the two blonds left and set off on their new quest.

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><p>Well, I hope that chapter did not suck too bad. I will try to have the next chapter up in less than a year.<p>

Leave a review if you want to let me know what you think. No flames, please!


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